


Birds That Mock One Another

by ninnie_eats_chips



Series: Asymmetry [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Au Ra Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Backstory, Bad Decisions, Banter, Childhood Friends, Dialogue Heavy, Drinking, Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Gen, Illegal Activities, Pre-Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22172914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninnie_eats_chips/pseuds/ninnie_eats_chips
Summary: She would have suspected burglary—they’d had burglars before, and that was no uncommon thing around those parts, what with the proximity to Limsa Lominsa. But this was no act of burglary. This was the act of a friend whose reputation for mischief far preceded their sense of manners.
Relationships: Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV) & Original Character(s)
Series: Asymmetry [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1539757
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Birds That Mock One Another

**Author's Note:**

> Gosh, the self-indulgence of having both of my characters interact in one fic. All they do is harass each other like good friends do (at least in this half)! Also I would have tagged this as 'Warrior of Light & Warrior of Light,' but in Lily's story, Jaye takes more of a backseat.
> 
> This goes at the beginning of Asymmetry because it's pre-ARR even, but for maximum effect I actually recommend reading Chapters 1-4 of Crystal Memories, and then coming back to this! It uh, definitely makes this a lot sadder in the context of CM's Jaye, but I won't always have him be gone in every continuation of what I write! I like to play with multiple universes. :^)
> 
> And there's a pic of Jaye here if you wanted to visualize what this butthead looks like (not accurate gear)!:  
> twitter.com/cactwerk/status/1209116048634499074

_ ‘Lettuce from the neighbors. Fish from the fishmonger by the docks. Flour from—’ _

Lily’s foot met something solid and she stopped mentally recounting the groceries in her arms, peering over them to the ground directly in front of her.

Right before the front door of her home there was a relatively small wooden crate, and in messy lettering above  _ her _ address was scribed,  _ ‘Jaye Malakai.’ _

“Ugh!” The Auri woman huffed in disgust and kicked the crate before shimmying past it to unlock the door. She leaned up against it with her sack and fumbled awkwardly for the small ring of keys in her waist pouch for a while before realizing that, for some reason,  _ the door wasn’t even locked. _

She leaned her forehead up against the wood and sighed loudly.

She would have suspected burglary—they’d had burglars before, and that was no uncommon thing around those parts, what with the proximity to Limsa Lominsa. But this was no act of burglary. This was the act of a friend whose reputation for mischief far preceded their sense of manners.

At least, that was what Lily expected, with all of a ninety-percent accuracy. It didn’t quite explain the crate’s presence, and so she balanced her groceries in one arm and kept her hand at the ready to grab the small crook she kept on her person while she slowly pushed open the door.

Her fears were quickly assuaged, however, when it creaked open to reveal a darkened and undisturbed living room (mostly) the way she’d left it, save for the Miqo’te man who slept on the sofa. When her eyes fell on him, she sighed exasperatedly, and as she shut the door behind her, he stirred, groaning and throwing his arm over his eyes.

Lily first proceeded across the room past the divider that separated the living room and the kitchen, where she deposited the items before pacing back through to yank up the window shade. She said nothing at first, letting the maroon-haired Miqo’te hiss and recoil from the burst of light like he were a cave bat. Then as she moved back to the door to take off her boots, he squinted at her over her shoulder. A light smirk for a scowl.

“Breaking and entering, suspicious packages at my doorstep…” 

Jaye eyed her with thin pupils through the slit of his fingers as he shielded himself from the rays, and then once his eyes had adjusted, he let his arm drop over the side of the furniture to dangle alongside his bushy tail.

“And would take your damned dirty boots off of my sofa?”

He wore an almost  _ hurt _ look on his face at first, but that was just the theatrics. Lily knew all too well not to give into those.

“Your  _ father’s  _ sofa, don’t you mean?” Jaye retorted in his vaguely Limsan accent to an eyeroll, rubbing his own eye as he sat up with a grunt. “Speaking of your old man, where is he? I’m half-surprised he didn’t show up to throw me out the moment I got in.”

_ “Well,” _ Lily started, gently tossing each boot next to the coat rack by the door. She placed her hands on her hips as she often did when lecturing her friend. There was a certain level of confidence, of  _ command _ she controlled over the Miqo’te, though three years her senior, that she had with no one else. A tone she would dare not take with another person. None else were so deserving to catch her scorn.

“If you had  _ listened _ to me last we met, you would’ve heard me say he was headed out of town again for a fishing trip. He’s out for business… Though perhaps listening wouldn’t have done you any good with how much you were enjoying your liquor.”

“... Touché.” He shrugged.

“And you should know my father well enough by now to know he would give you the same advice as me: try knocking first. And if it seems that no one is home, don’t enter. I’d make you a key if I trusted you not to rob me blind these days.”

This time, the hurt look on Jaye’s face was quite possibly genuine as he leaned off the edge of the couch and raised his finger toward her show of bravado.

_ “Hey.  _ For the record, I did knock. So allow me to pay you some sagely advice as well: the sorry locks you lot keep on your doors? You ought to do better. Any green rogue could come along and pick ‘er open. A trained Opo, even. You’ll not hear that from me a second time, but as long as you’re welcoming my arse to your sofa, well, who am I to complain?”

Lily’s mouth dropped open to rebuke him, but he continued.

“Secondly… _‘Rob you blind,’_ _aye…_ Uncalled for, don’t you think?” Jaye rubbed the back of his neck under his collar in an irritated fashion. Yet, a flash of pearly teeth betrayed his hurt.

“What would I even take, _ your father’s bloomin’ underwear?”  _ A disgusted sound erupted from the Auri as she waved at him. 

“That’s- Ugh,  _ no! _ I just…!” Though she tried to hide it, a smile was working its way onto her lips, and Jaye leaned forward with a tilt of the head, craning with his own amused look plain on his face.

“Made ya smile.” 

Lily showed him a comical pout to replace the look she’d tried to hide. 

He was like this, _ always… _ Well, a touch more shameless than when they were children. She could hardly stay angry at the man, in spite of his usual antics. She was as quick to cool down as Jaye was to show his true colors, at least for her. 

She wouldn’t tell him unless he asked, but if he needed a place to sleep, she supposed he could stay there. He didn’t have a house anymore since he’d gone off to Limsa Lominsa a couple years back, and she’d rather not hear any ruckus raised about him sleeping in someone’s shed or barn again. Not to mention the fool would be sneezing wild in the morning due to his chronic hayfever. And then he would probably just disappear again before he had the chance to take some bread with him.

Truly, she was overly lenient with him.

“Wait, you said there was a  _ ‘package?’”  _ Jaye finally chimed.

Lily had been making her way back toward the kitchen when she spun around on her socks and was chuckling at Jaye’s honest tone, his eyes widening as he stood up, looking like he’d just received a gift for his nameday. She’d wondered when it would click. The way he was so sharp in some regards, and yet so  _ slow _ in others, was always something else.

She nodded with some hesitance, then waited by as he quickly made for the front door and retrieved the crate, kicking the door closed behind him again with a level of haphazardness one would hardly expect from a self-proclaimed master of stealth. She had been about to start preparing supper, but here Lily found herself watching out of curiosity for  _ what was in the so-important-box _ as Jaye plunked it down on the low, Eastern-style table at the center of the room and dropped to a cross-legged position.

He had already swiftly unsheathed a dagger and wedged it into a corner of the crate to pry it open when she came and seated herself to the side. Again, Lily looked over the hasty lettering as he struggled and made a  _ “hmph”  _ that made him stop and side-eye her. Jaye struggled for only a moment more before the nails in the wood gave way and the crate popped open, and with that same bright, nameday look upon his face again, with the addition of a grin that was  _ almost _ sweet if it were not on  _ him _ , he reached in and pulled out his prize— _ well, half of it. _

It was another bottle of godsdamned alcohol. Of that, Lily was sure. Two of them, from what she could see, leaning at an angle toward her friend’s shoulder to see inside. The one he was unwrapping from the cloth was sizeable, and the color of the swill itself was a deep fiery red one would have thought to attribute to rolanberry juice—or to some poor, mistaken individual—a health tonic, rather than liquor… at least had they not known Jaye.

“What in the gods’ name is that?” He clicked his teeth in response, turning the bottle from side to side as he held it up to gleam in the light. It really almost  _ glowed. _ In fact, Lily was convinced that come sundown, the drink would be the only thing illuminated.

“Dunno… Well, the boys at the docks simply called it  _ ‘Fire.’ _ I can only wonder why…” The Miqo’te muttered, trailing off, then set the bottle down on the table. “As for what it’s made of? Not the foggiest. Unlike you, I like a good surprise. And, uh, maybe it’s better I didn’t ask, considering—” 

“Considering...  _ what?”  _ Lily narrowed her eyes as Jaye grew suddenly quieter, slinking down a little, which was unlike him.

“Considering, y’know,” He gestured in circles with his hand, tilting his head side to side as his ears lopped back on his head. “It’s rare stuff… Illegal, even.”

_ “J’haelyn.”  _ She whispered low and disappointedly, though ultimately unsurprised.

_ “Kaede.” _

“If I had any bit of foresight as to what you would do with it, I would’ve never given you that moniker.” Jaye frowned when he finally looked her in the eyes..

She spoke, of course, of the Miqo’te’s nickname that had ceased to be so, over the years. The name based on one letter, given by a little girl with a stubby little tail and stubby horns, who had decided that ‘ _ J’haelyn’ _ had  _ too many _ for how it sounded _. _ A name given by a curious foreigner to a funny, tall boy whose tail was fun to pull and hold, and who never minded overmuch. Over a decade, and Lily could easily recall the day they’d met. 

She realized that those more innocent days were gone, however. What banter was once had over who would be the first to stick their foot into a sea cave they weren’t supposed to venture into, or who would have the last of the sweets they bought with gil scraped up from helping neighbors with odd chores—were replaced by dispute over things like  _ these.  _ Foolish adult decisions with more serious _ adult consequences, _ should they come to light by people with better morals.

But Lily knew he would not apologize for this. Jaye knew that to apologize for something would mean he meant not to repeat his actions— _and_ _he well meant to do them again._ In a way, it was almost silently agreed upon that they would suffer together. And if she were to, say, be arrested for possession of something so stupid as an illegal beverage? Well, she hoped he would take the fall and not just do what he did best...

“It’s kept me out of trouble.” He finally said.

“Clearly not enough.” Though Lily was aware he’d meant with his tribe.

_ ‘Not with the people who matter...’ _

So when Jaye inevitably picked up the bottle and began prying at the cork, she merely sighed and took what she thought to be the path that offered the least conflict.

“Do you need a corkscrew?”

_ “‘Do I need a corkscrew,’”  _ he mocked back, and then put his knife to use once more until the cork popped. 

“Ah! _ …Oh.”  _

Lily didn’t need to ask what had elicited such a strong reaction. He’d recoiled, nose scrunched up, tail curled up like a dead spider, and she soon found herself following suit when the smell hit her own nose.  _ And boy did it hit hard. _

Perhaps, somewhere in the concoction, there  _ was _ a hint of rolanberries. But so far the drink lived up to its name entirely based on its scent: it smelled positively like  _ smouldering coke and ash, _ and just a whiff from a distance was enough to burn the nostrils.

“That’s  _ dastardly _ , Jaye!” Lily covered her nose and turned away to escape it. Surely, this was a chemical weapon rather than something anyone was meant to drink?

“Aye…” He’d said, but there was a determination in his eyes, never taking them off of the liquid. “I’m going to drink it.”

“Are you sure?” 

Jaye looked at her and nodded. What he seemingly didn’t expect was for her to gather a pair of small ceramic cups on the table—the ones her father normally reserved for sake, and slide one over to him while she tightly gripped the other in her hand nearby. Then without so much as a signature smirk, a wordless pact was made and each of the cups were filled.

“Welp. Cheers…”

* * *

“It’s so… so bloody  _ hot.” _

He’d winded right back up on the couch with his wrist shielding his eyes with his collar popped open further. He swore under his breath as the hiccups returned and he rolled back to his side, red-faced and letting his knuckles touch the floor. After he sniffled, he smiled.

_“Bloody_ _good stuff_ _though,_ right?”

“No,” the small Auri whined from the floor. She was curled up in a fetal position, not far from where she’d first taken her shot, with one elbow supporting her head and her horns, while she cried into her hand.

“N-no, not at all.” She repeated.

_ Just one shot. _ That was all it took to make her wheeze and wonder what day it was. But Jaye… he had several. He had claimed he could _ “work past the burn,” _ up until the coughing fits claimed him and the onset of stupor finally caught up with him and sent him straight back to the sofa. He wasn’t an overly small man in particular, being a whole seven ilms taller than her, and could hold his liquor about as well as any Hyuran man in town. But as it turned out, the drink known as Fire was not one to be trifled with.

“Proud of ya,” Jaye slurred. “Didn’t know you had it in ya.”

“It is… definitely in me. It won’t stop  _ burning.” _ She sobbed again while he laughed, in between deep breaths to clear their sinuses. “This is your fault.”

He would have asked her to try anyway, like he asked her to try every other ridiculous thing he’d brought home or suggested in the past. She’d merely taken the initiative, this time.

“Sure, sure.”

  
Lily thought, as the room was finally un-tilting itself from the axis it had been stuck at;  _ she had more to take the initiative for than just some silly alcohol. There was something she ought to tell him before he departed... _

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't meant to be a 2-parter, but it felt a good place to pause for me personally as I don't like my fics running too long, and I also like a pause between a mood shift...
> 
> ((What they have may or may not touch on 'Romantic Friendship' territory, maybe not so much in this little fic but maybe when I write them more in the future. For now, it's pretty platonic and I kinda just wanna leave it for interpretation?))
> 
> THANK YOU FOR SUFFERING MY CHARS, ILU.


End file.
